IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT AUDIT
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT I-9 AUDIT. A recent article from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) indicated that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been replacing raids and roundups with records audits.
The article states that audits are resulting in thousands of firings and millions of dollars in fines at more than 2,900 employers. The audits have resulted in 105 companies being barred from doing federal contract work. Additionally, more than $6.4 million dollars in fines have been issued to businesses that have hired unauthorized workers.
The article goes on to state that ICE is expecting to deport 400,000 illegal immigrants in 2010. It should be noted that the majority of deportees is the result of illegal immigrants being picked up for criminal acts and expanding the search through the prisons and jails for illegal immigrants already in custody.
The audits of companies’ records by federal agents usually result in firings of employees and penalties for employers. Through early summer 2010, just 765 undocumented workers have been arrested at their jobs, compared with 5,100 in 2008, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The audits force businesses to fire every illegal immigrant on the payroll. The audits create difficulty for the employers to hire other unauthorized workers as replacements.
“Businesses must be held accountable if they break the law by deliberately hiring and exploiting undocumented workers…”said President Obama.
“We are going after the root cause of illegal immigration and getting rid of the culture of compliance among employers,” said Matthew Chandler, a spokesperson for ICE.
Critics of the worksite audit policy are unhappy with the low number of deportations of illegal immigrants. The critics say the workers just go to another job.
WHAT CAN YOU DO??
- Employers must continue to screen and ensure all documentation is in place within 3 days of hire.
- Audit your records to ensure that I-9’s are on file for all employee’s
- Audit your process, are the I-9’s being completed properly and on time.
Need help? Contact your Human Resource and Payroll departments.
Contact Pinnacle PEO Corp for more information on Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 Audit.
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